Business and Other Briefings
HMT: The Treasury has published its final agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland on the bank’s participation in the Asset Protection Scheme, along with further detail of the scheme’s operation and the assets it covers. The Treasury has also announced the launch of the Asset Protection Agency that will administer the scheme in order to protect the taxpayer’s interest.
BIS: The government’s programme to simplify & streamline publicly-funded business support is claiming that it has almost reached its March 2010 target. The ‘Solutions for Business: a Foundation for the future’ report published last week sets out how the Government is delivering on its 2006 Budget commitment to reduce the number of business support schemes from 3,000 to no more than 100 by March 2010.
The most recent information shows that less than 200 schemes remain to be aligned to the Solutions for Business portfolio in order to reach the target of less than 100 schemes. The report also sets out plans to ensure the March 2010 target is met.
Press release ~ ‘Solutions for Business: a Foundation for the future’ (VLF 3.3Mb) ~ Solutions for Business
FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published the summarised feedback it received on whether to extend its code on remuneration policies to other FSA-authorised firms. The FSA’s remuneration code comes into force for large banks, building societies & broker dealers on 1 January 2010. It will apply to any remuneration awards made by these firms for the 2009 performance year.
Chapter 6 of the March consultation paper invited general discussion on whether the code should be extended to other FSA-authorised firms. At this stage the FSA has decided not to introduce any new rules and will not extend the rules to other sectors. The FSA’s supervisory focus is on ensuring that the firms which are within the initial scope of the remuneration code are fully compliant from 1 January 2010. The FSA has already committed to a review of the effectiveness of the remuneration code in mid 2010.
HMT: The restructure of Northern Rock will take place on 1 January 2010, the Treasury has confirmed. The Northern Rock plc Transfer Order 2009 was made by the Treasury and laid before Parliament last week. Under the restructuring, NR’s business will be split between 2 companies with the back book of mortgages managed separately to NR’s other business.
HMT: The Treasury has published a discussion document on possible international options to reduce the cost to taxpayers of financial sector failures. Risk, reward and responsibility: the financial sector and society is a contribution to the international debate on the future of the global financial sector.
The document highlights the importance of the financial sector to the UK economy, alongside the risks it poses to society. The document considers ways in which the financial sector might contribute to the potential costs of any residual risks it poses to taxpayers and to broader social objectives.
FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has strengthened its stress testing regime by requiring firms to improve their stress testing capability, enhance their capital planning stress testing and by introducing a reverse stress testing requirement for firms. Alongside its policy statement, the FSA has published a short consultation paper (closes on 31 March 2010) clarifying its approach to capital planning buffers (CPB) – see ‘Consultations’ section for more information.
This Revenue & Customs Brief was issued on 8 December 2009 following the High Court decision in the case of Rank. This confirmed that participation fees for playing mechanised cash bingo (MCB) should have been exempt from VAT following the High Court’s decision that there had been a breach of fiscal neutrality in the VAT treatment of this type of bingo.
This Revenue & Customs Brief is of interest to all businesses that buy or lease cars or that sell or lease cars to other businesses.
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